Fruit orienting machine



@ct, M, 198 H. A. SKOG FRUIT ORIENTING MACHINE 8 Sheets-Sheet 1 OriginalFiled Sept. 2, 1948 "EN TOR HENRY A. SKQG W fl %w,%

Get 314, 1958 H. A. SKOG 29 6 FRUIT ORI ENTING MACHINE Original FiledSept. 2, 1948 I 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 IHHI HENRY A. SKOG,

Oct. 14, 1958 H. A. SKOG 5 FRUIT ORIENTING MACHINE Original Filed Sept.2, 1948 8 Sheets-Sheet 4 .ii an JNVENTOR HENRY A. sKoe,

Oct. 14, 1958 H. A. SKOG FRUIT ORIENTING MACHINE 8 Sheets-Sheet 5Original Filed Sept. 2, 1948 Och14, 1958 H. A. SKOG 2,856,057

FRUIT ORIENTING MACHINE Original Filed Sept. 2, 194a s Sheets-Sheet s I,1? 5 jg 54.1/0

INVENTOR HENRY A SKOG,

Oct. 14, 1958 H. A. SKQG FRUIT ORIENTING MACHINE 8 Sheets-Sheet 7Original Filed Sept. 2, 1948 Oct. M, 1958 i HA. SKOG' 2,856,057

7 FRUIT ORIENTING MACHINE Original Filed Sept. 2, 1948 8 Sheets-Sheet 8INVENTOR HENRY A. SKOG,

Unite FRUIT ONTHNG MACHINE Original application September 2, 1948,Serial No. 47,464. Divided and this application April 19, 1951, SerialNo. 221,795

3 Claims. (Cl. 198-33) This invention relates to a fruit orientermachine, and more particularly to a machine for orienting peaches orlike fruit.

It is a principal object of the present invention to provide a machinefor orienting fruit, particularly peaches and like fruit, both as to itsstem indent and as to its suture plane.

Various devices have heretofore been proposed for orienting cherries asto stem indent and various suggestions have heretofore been made as tothe use of such or similar devices for orienting peaches and like fruitas to stem indent. However, such devices have not been satisfactory forthe orienting of peaches and like fruit as to stem indent because of thehigh percentages of failures, i. e., unoriented fruit, delivered by theorienting device to the subsequent processing means. It has heretoforebeen thought that in order to orient the fruit as to stem indent it wasnecessary to impose some restriction on the rotation or turning of thefruit with the orienting member or wheel in order that the fruit wouldbe stopped and its further rotation prevented when the fruit was alignedwith its indent facing the orienting member or wheel, or, alternatively,to provide some form of fruit supporting member or plate capable ofstably supporting the fruit when the indent was thus aligned with theorienting member so that such support or plate could hold the fruit outof engagement with the orienting member or wheel once it was thusaligned or faced in such direction. Applicant has found, however, thatfruits such as peaches can successfully be oriented, and the number oforienting failures reduced or eliminated, by eliminating or reducing toa minimum the restrictions imposed on the free turning or rotation ofthe fruit by the orienting member and by shaping and sizing theorienting member or wheel in proper relation to the shape and size ofthe fruit, particularly peaches, which it is desired to orient.

More specifically, applicant has found that substantially one hundredpercent orientation of heterogeneously fed peaches may be secured by thesubstantially free rotation of each peach by an orienting member orwheel shaped to penetrate deeply into the stem indent and that continuedmovement of such orienting member, or rotation of the orienting wheel,will not disturb the orientation of the peach even though no substantialrestriction is imposed on the free rotation of the peach.

It is accordingly a further object of the invention to provide a peachorienting mechanism so constructed that the free movement of the peachduring the orienting operation is restricted only to the extentnecessary to prevent the fruit from being displaced out of engagementwith the orienting member or wheel and that the free rotation of thepeach during the orienting operation is insured.

A further and more specific object of the invention is to provide, witheach orienting mechanism employing an orienting member or wheel assubstantially the entire support for a peach during the turning of thepeach by said member or wheel to orient the stem indent of the ratesPatent ice peach, fruit containing means, arms, or jaws forming fruitreceiving openings or fruit confining members so spaced as to preventthe peach from being tilted, or falling, out of driving engagement withthe orienting member or wheel during the orienting operation and toimpose substantially no restriction on the free turning of the peachduring such orienting operation.

Accordingly, it is another object of applicants invention to provide afruit orienting machine in which the fruit is delivered directly to theorienting mechanisms from a suitable hopper or other bulk container.

Other objects of the invention are to provide in a fruit orienter newand improved means, receptacle, grippers or the like completely open atthe bottom to receive and confine the fruit in the proper position on anorienting member or wheel without imposing any substantial restrictionon the free turning or rotation of the fruit by the orienting wheel; toprovide a fruit orienting device by which each article of fruit may berotated about a pluraliy of relatively angularly disposed axes by thesame orienting member to aid the orienting member in finding the stemindent; to provide an orienting device for peaches and like fruitcapable not only of locating and orienting the stern indent but alsolocating and orienting the peach as to its suture plane or the long axisof its stem indent; to provide a fruit orienting machine or mechanismwherein the orienting member or wheel is spaced vertically below thefruit receiving or holding means or grippers so that such means orgrippers will impose substantially no restrictions on the turning of thefruit by the orienting member or wheel and the fruit will not be jammedor forced against such means or grippers by the turning force applied tothe fruit by the orienting member or wheel; to provide in an orientingmachine or mechanism normally spaced relatively movable means forcentralizing the fruit on the orienting member or wheel and tostraighten the fruit after it has been oriented as to stem indent andsuture plane so that the suture plane extends vertically or coincideswith the plane of the orienting member or wheel; to provide in anorienter for peaches and like fruit, an orienting member or wheelcapable of entering the stem indent of the fruit to the fullest possibleextent so that continued movement or rotation of the member or wheel, orvibration thereof, will not cause fruit already oriented to be movedtherefrom to an unoriented position; to provide an apparatus fororienting fruit by utilizing the force of gravity, or the weight of thefruit, to hold it in oriented position once it has been oriented eventhough the orienting wheel continues its movement or rotation; toprovide a new and improved orienting mechanism including an orientingwheel rotatable about one axis to turn the fruit and turnable about anaxis transverse to the first axis so that unoriented fruit may berotated successively about difierent axes to effect the most rapidlocation of the stem indent, or stem indent and suture plane, by theorienting wheel; to provide an orienting apparatus comprising a rotatingwheel proportioned to fit the average size and shape of stem indent andforming the sole bottom support for the fruit during its orientation,together with laterally positioned fruit holding means positioned wellabove the wheel, to limit the tilting of the fruit while on the wheel,

to prevent the fruit from falling out of engagement with the wheel andto centralize the fruit over the wheel.

Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will beapparent from the following description when taken in connection withthe accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation of the machine embodying the presentinvention with certain parts broken away;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the machine of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view in vertical section taken substantiallyalong the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view in vertical section taken substantiallyalong the line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view partly in elevation and partly in sectiontaken along the line 5-5 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view in horizontal section taken substantiallyalong the line 6-6 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary view in vertical section taken substantiallyalong the line 7-7 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged view in vertical section taken along the line 8-8of Fig. 2;

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary view in vertical section taken substantiallyalong the line 9-9 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary view in horizontal section taken substantiallyalong the line 10-10 of Fig. 8;

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary view in horizontal section taken along the line11-11 of Fig. 8;

Fig. 12 is a fragmentary view in perspective of the mounting support forthe orienting wheel and a portion of its drive mechanism;

Fig. 13 is an exploded perspective view showing the orienting wheel,spindle and wheel drive;

Fig. 14 is a fragmentary, enlarged plan view of the peach receiving andholding means;

Fig. 15 is a fragmentary view in vertical section taken along the line15-15 of Fig. 14;

Fig. 16 is an exploded perspective view of the fruit receiving andholding mechanism of Figs. 14 and 15;

Fig. 17 is a view in section taken substantially along the line 17-17 ofFig. 14;

Fig. 18 is a view similar to Fig. 17 showing the proposed grippers andfruit receiving holding means in open position;

Figs. 19 to 23 are operation illustrating diagrams taken along positionlines at stations 19-19 to 23-23 inclusive of Figs. 2 and 6;

Figs. 19A to 23A are operation diagrams correspond ing to the operationdiagrams of Figs. 19 to 23 respectively, and

Figs. 24 to 29 inclusive are diagrammatic illustrations exemplary of themanner in which an orienting wheel may operate to orient a peach or likefruit in the machine of Figs. 1 to 23A and the cooperative functioningof the fruit receiving and holding means.

A preferred embodiment of the machine as disclosed in the drawingscomprises a machine frame, Figs. 1 to 7, having side plates 2 and 4spaced apart by a plurality of cross members such as the cross members 6and 8, and others not shown. Angle irons 10 and 12 extend longitudinallyof the side plates 2 and 4 at the upper ends thereof and like angleirons (not shown) extend longitudinally of the side plates at the bottomthereof to form supporting feet for the machine frame. A stationary,supporting column or shaft 14 is secured in a boss 16 in the crossmember 6 and also in a like boss of a similar cross member (not shown)positioned near the bottom of the machine frame.

A platform 18 mounted in any convenient manner upon the side platessupports a combined motor and speed reducer 20 which has a slow speedshaft 22 which drives a plurality of orienting mechanisms 24 and a highspeed shaft 26 which drives a fruit vibrator mechanism 28.

A second motor 30 which may if desired be mounted in any convenientmanner upon a platform (not shown) secured to one or both of the sideplates drives the fruit conveying means or turret 32 and simultaneouslycauses the orienting mechanisms 24 to travel with the fruit conveyingmeans or turret 32.

The fruit conveying means 32 comprises a ring turret or disk 34, Figs. 1and 3 to 5, keyed to a sleeve 36, Fig. 4-, journaled on the column orshaft 14, the sleeve being keyed at its lower end to a spiral gear 38driven by a spiral pinion 40, Fig. 1, secured to a cross shaft 42journaled in suitable brackets (not shown) fastened to the 4 side plates2 and 4. The shaft 42 is driven by the motor 30 through a sprocket 44 onthe motor 30, chain 46, a sprocket 48 mounted on the cross shaft 50carrying a gear 52 meshing with a gear 54 on the shaft 42. A ring 56 ismounted in vertically spaced relation on the main turret disk 34 as byscrews 58 and spacing sleeves 60.

The ring 56 overlies the rim of the main turret disk 34, as illustratedin Figs. 1 to 5, and is provided with a plurality, namely fifteen, ofapertures 62 preferably circular and of a diameter sufiicient to permitready passage of peaches of the largest size which it is desired toorient by means of the machine. The openings or apertures 62 are equallyand arcuately spaced around the ring 56. The main turret disk 34 isprovided with a similar series of openings or apertures 64 also equallyand arcuately spaced around the disk and vertically aligned with theapertures 62 in the ring 36. Fruit is fed to the ring 56 and the turretdisk 34 from a hopper 66 or other bulk container, or from a suitablebulk conveyor, from which the peaches roll down chute 68 having abovethe ring 56 and the turret disk 34 an open bottom or arcuate slot andsidewalls 70, 72, 74 and 76. The open bottom or arcuate slot in thebottom of the chute allows the peach to roll from the chute 68 onto thesurface of the ring 56 and hence to fall through an opening 62 as itpasses between the sidewalls 72 and 76 and therefrom to pass through anopening 64 in the main turret disk onto an arcuate plate 78 having anouter arcuate wall 82 and into fruit receiving or holding means orgrippers of which there is a plurality of sets corresponding to thenumber of openings in the ring 56 and the main turret disk 34.

Each fruit receiving or holding means or grippers comprise a pair ofgenerally V-shaped clamps 86 and 88, best seen in Figs. 14 to 18. Thegrippers 86 and 88 are formed integrally with arms 90 and 92 mounted bypivot bolts 94 and spacing sleeves 96 on the main turret disk 34. Thearms 90 and 92 form the offset portions 98 which pass between the ring56 and the turret disk 34 and are also formed with dependent portions100 joining the V-shaped clamps 86 and 88 to the arms 90 and 92 andpassing through an opening 64 in the turret disk. It should be notedthat the openings 64 in the turret disk are formed with slots 102 toreceive the dependent portion 100 when the clamps 86 and 88 are moved tofully opened positions. Arms 90 and 92 are formed with interengagingteeth or gear segments 104 and 106 to cause the arm 92 to movesimultaneously in the opposite direction when the arm 90 is actuated.

The arm 90 is provided with an integral arm portion 108 extendinginwardly from the mounting of pivot bolt 94 and provided at its innerend with the cam follower or roller 110 riding upon the surface of acircular cam 112 pinned to the stationary column or shaft 14. The arms90 and 92 are interconnected and urged toward each other by a spring 114secured at one end to a pin 116 carried by the arm 90 and the other endto a pin 118 carried by the arm 92. The spring 114 therefore urges theclamps or fruit grippers 86 and 88 to closed position and they are movedto open position by the stationary cam 112 as the grippers move abouttheir circular path with the turret disk 34. The inner surfaces 120 and122 of the opposed clamps or grippers 86 and 88 are inclined or tapered,as best seen in Figs. 17 and 18, for purposes which will presentlyappear. The V-shapcd character or formation of the grippers or clampsenables the fruit grippers or clamps to centralize each peach radiallyof the turret.

A Wheel-like member 124, Fig. 4, has a central hub portion 126surrounding the sleeve 36 and has a ring flange 128 abutting anddepending from the turret disk 34. The wheel-like member 124 is securedto the sleeve 36 or to the disk 34 for rotation therewith. A ring 130having an annular flange 132 at its lower end is mounted on the ringflange 128 and forms a mounting for the orienting mechanisms 24, whichare equal in number to the number of openings, namely 15, in the ring 56and the main turret disk 34. Ring 130 is provided with annularly spacedaxially extending bosses 134, Figs. 4 and 9, receiving mounting bolts136 by which the ring is adjustably secured to the turret disk 34. Aspacing member or member-s 138 are interposed between the disk 34 andthe bosses 134 to adjust the orienting mechanisms vertically withrespect to the turret disks 34 and the fruit receiving means or grippers84, the adjustment being accomplished by substituting for the spacingmember or members 138 a like member or members of different thickness.

Each orienting mechanism 24 comprises an orienting member or wheel 140,Figs. 8 to 13, which is relatively small in diameter, for example, fromone and threeeighths inches to one and three-quarters inches, inrelation to the size of the peach, or other like fruit, as illustratedin Figs. 24 to 29.

The wheel 140 is positioned within a slot 142 of a spindle 144 andjournaled on a cross pin 146 press fitted or otherwise secured to thespindle 144. A Geneva gear 148 and a Geneva lock plate 150 are securedto the spindle 144, the Geneva lock plate 150 having four equal arcuatelock surfaces 152. The reduced lower portion 154 of the spindle 144 isjournaled in an apertured boss 156 of a supporting unit 158, best seenin Fig. 12. This supporting unit may comprise a U-shaped bracket 160bolted to the annular flange 132 of the annular ring 130, bracket 160having secured to it spaced arms or bars 162 and 164 to which is securedor with which is integrally formed a bracket 166 providing the verticalspindle journaling boss 156. The depending arms of the bracket 168 alsoform the mounting support and journals for a shaft 168 to which issecured a spiral pinion 170 and a gear 172.

The spiral pinion 170 meshes with andis rotated by a large spiral gear174, keyed to sleeve 176 concentric with the column or shaft 14. Sleeve176 has keyed to its lower end a spiral gear 178 driven by a spiralpinion 180 on a shaft 182 journaled in suitable bearing brackets (notshown) secured to the side plates 2 and 4. The shaft 182 is driven bythe slow speed shaft 22 of the combined motor and speed reducer 18 as bymeans of a sprocket 184 on the shaft 22, a chain 186 and a sprocket 188on the shaft 182.

Gear 172, Fig. 10, meshes with a gear 190 secured to a shaft 192journaled in the forward ends of the arms 162 and 164. A drive spool 194of hour glass form is secured to the shaft 192 for rotation thereby andits concave surface, which is concentric to the axis of rotation of theorienting wheel 141 when the wheel contacts the driving spool, isadapted frictionally to rotate the orienting wheel. It should be notedthat the horizontal distance between the vertical planes through theaxis of rotation of the orienting wheel and the axis of rotation of thedriving spool is less than the sum of the radius of the Wheel and thespool when the wheel is perpendicular to the spool axis and that thehorizontal planes through the respective axes are vertically spaced sothat the orienting wheel engages the surface of the driving spool at thepoint above the horizontal plane through the spool axis. The orientingwheel is periodically raised out of driving engagement with the drivespool 194 and while out of engagement is revolved or rotated about theaxis of the spindle 144, i. e., about a vertical axis. Thisdisengagement of the wheel or spool is accomplished by suitable wheelraising mechanism or means, in the form of cam blocks 196, 198, 200 and202, best seen in Figs. and 6, with the blocks having inclined beveledend portions and being bolted to mounting ring 284 fastened toandsupported upon brackets such as 286 fastened to the longitudinalframe bars and 12.

The spindle 144 of the orienting mechanism is of such length that thebottom end of its reduced portion 154 terminates above the mounting ring204, as illustrated in Fig. 8. When the spindle is carried, by theturning of the turret, to one of the cam blocks, the lever end of thespindle engages the leading beveled end of the cam block and is therebyraised, as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 23. Circular guide means for thespindles of the plurality of orienting mechanisms as they are revolvedby the turret about the axis of the column or shaft 14 is provided by apair of circular tracks or rings 208 or 210, best seen in Figs. 1, 4, or6 and 8. These rings are mounted on the spaced vertical arms 212 of thebrackets 206, Fig. 8. The outer arm of the brackets 206 also supports,in vertically spaced relation to the track 208, 3. Geneva lock ring 214,best seen in Figs. 6 and 8. Geneva movement actuating or driving gearsectors 216, 218, 221) and 222 are supported in angularly spacedrelation on the Geneva lock ring 214, Fig. 6. The sectors 216, 213 and220 are each provided with two teeth on its inner surface to engage theteeth of each Geneva gear 148 as the orienting mechanisms are broughtthereto by the rotation of the turret.

The two teeth of each Geneva drive sector cause the spindle of eachorienting mechanism to be rotated through an angle of ninety degrees.The Geneva drive sector 222 is provided, however, with only one tooth,as shown in Fig. 6, and this sector therefore rotates the spindle ofeach orienting mechanism only through an angle of forty-five degrees forpurposes which will presently appear.

Means is provided for holding each spindle from accidental rotationaround its vertical axis when the orienting wheel extends radially ofthe turret. This means preferably comprises a flat spring 224, Figs. 11and 12, secured to an upstanding arm of the bracket 166 and providedwith a V-shaped hook 226 at its outer end to engage a corner of theGeneva lock plate and thereby prevent accidental rotation of the spindle144.

The spindles of the orienting mechanisms are turned about the verticalaxis not only by the Geneva drive sectors 216 to 222 but are initiallyturned to position as shown at station 2028 in Figure 2 and asillustrated in Figure 20, by the Geneva locking ring214. For thatpurpose the Geneva locking ring is formed at its leading end with aradially reduced or narrower portion 228, Figure 6, going to the thickerportion by a curved carnming surface or portion 230 which is adapted toengage a corner of the Geneva lock plate 150 of each orienting mechanismas will be evident from Figures 19a and 20a to cause the lock plate, andhence the spindle, to turn about a vertical axis to the position asshown in Figure 20a in which the curved locking surface 152 of the lockplate glides along the inner vertical edge 232 of the locking ring sothat the ring holds the lock plates, and hence the spindles, againstaccidental rotation. It will of course be evident that the lockingsurface 152 of the locking plates'have the same radius of curvature asthe locking edge 232 of the locking ring.

As the turret rotates the peach between any pair of grippers 86 and 88,the peach is carried in succession through positions or stations 19-19,2020, 21--21, 2222, 221-421 and 2323 as illustrated in Figures 2 and 6.While the fruit is being conveyed through this series of positions orstations, it is, as will'hereinafter be described more particularly,oriented as to stem indent and as to suture plane or the long axis ofthe stem indent.

After the fruit has been carried past position or station 23-23, theorienting wheel may, for one reason or another, not be fully seated toits maximum depth in the stem indent, or in some few instances, thewheel may be slightly cocked with respect to the long axis of the stemindent. In order to cause the wheel to enter into the deepest portion ofthe cavity, applicant has provided the vibrating mechanism 28. Thisvibrating mechanism 28, best shown in Figures 1, 6 and 7, comprises apair of frame bars 234 and 236 pivoted at their inner ends on a commonshaft 238 held in brackets 240 bolted to the side frame plate 2. Thetrack or ring 204 which supports the spindle raising blocks 196, 198,200 and 202 is cut away between a pair of the brackets 206 and anarcuate ring 242 of the same radius as the ring 204 is bolted to theouter ends of the arms 234 and 236 of the vibrating mechanism andbridges the gap between the ends of the ring 204. The arcuate ring 242is vibrated, substantially vertically, by an eccentric 244 secured to ashaft 246 mounted on a suitable bracket 248 bolted to the side frameplate 4. A connecting rod 250 connects the eccentric 244 to a pivotedstud 252 bolted to the ring sector 242. The shaft 246 is provided with aspeed adjustable pulley 254, driven by belt 256, in turn driven by apulley 258 on high speed shaft 26.

The operation of the machine to accomplish rotation of peaches, or likeindented and scanned fruit, as to indent and suture plane, is asfollows: The peaches are dumped or delivered into the hopper or chute 68and roll down the chute, passing from the chute onto the surface of thecontinuously rotating ring 56, the peaches being confined against anysubstantial arcuate movement by the upstanding side walls 70, 72, 74 and76 of the chute or hopper. As each opening 62 in the ring 56 passesbeneath the open bottom of the chute, a peach will fall through theopening and through the aligned opening 64 in the continuously rotatingmain turret disk 34 to a position as shown in Figure 3 on the stationaryarcuate plate 78, the fruit being received between a pair of the openclamps or grippers 86 and 88. The peach rolls or slides along arcuateplate 78 until it reaches the end thereof and rolls therefrom onto anorienting wheel 140 which, at that time, is positioned radially of theturret and is in driving engagement with its driving spool 194. At thistime the peach passes position 1919, as illustrated in Figures 2 and 6,and the parts of the orienting mechanism operate as is illustrated inFigures 19 and 19A.

Just prior to the arrival of the orienting mechanism at position 19-19,the cam roller 110 passes a short cut-out section 260 in the surface ofthe stationary control cam 112, as shown in Figure 2, and the clamps orgrippers are momentarily closed to centralize the peach with respect tothe orienting wheel and are then opened as the cam passes out of thenotch 260 so that the peach is allowed freely to roll under the actionof the orienting wheel, the clamps or grippers being spaced apart oropened sufficiently so that they impose no substantial restriction onthe free turning of the peach with the orienting wheel and the peach ismaintained substantially entirely supported only by the orienting wheel.The clamps or grippers thereafter serve during the orienting operationmerely to limit the tilting of the peach on the wheel and to preventdisplacement of the peach out of driving engagement with the wheel. TheV shape of the opposed clamps or grippers insures this correctcentralizing of the peach on the orienting wheel.

The rotating orienting wheel causes the peach to rotate and if theindent is in the plane of the wheel, the indent will very quickly reachthe wheel and the peach will therefore drop down on the wheel to theextent that the wheel penetrates into the stern indent. If the indentnot only is in the plane of the wheel, but the suture plane also lies inthe plane of the wheel, the peach will of course be very quickly turnedso that not only does the wheel penetrate the stem indent, but is alsoaligned with the long axis thereof, and the wheel will accordinglypenetrate farther or to its maximum extent for such peach into the stemindent. It is very important for this purpose that the wheel berelatively small in diameter as compared with the peach or like fruit tobe oriented.

For orienting peaches the wheel should be approximately 1% inches indiameter, 4 inch in width and with an arcuate edge surface of of aninch. Applicant has found that a wheel of that size is sufiicientlylarge to rotate the peach and small enough so that when the wheel .8enters the stem indent crosswise of the long axis of such stem indent,the steep sides of the indent crosswise of the long axis thereof willprevent further turning of the peach as the wheel continues to rotate,and furthermore, that such a wheel is the proper size to enter deeplyinto the indent on a line with the long axis thereof, which coincideswith the suture plane of the peach, so that the peach will not befurther rotated as the rotation of the wheel continues after the sutureplane has been located.

The elongated edge and plane side surface of the wheel will, incooperation with the abrupt sides of the stem indent crosswise of itslong axis, tend to keep the suture properly aligned with the wheel eventhough the peach may tilt somewhat on the wheel. The peach may not, ofcourse, be originally received on the orienting wheel with its indent orsuture plane lying in the vertical plane of the wheel, but may fallthereon in any position. If the peach falls on the orienting wheel withthe long axis of its indent in a plane normal to the wheel plane, asillustrated in Figure 24, the continued rotation of the wheel in itsoriginal position radially of the turret will not serve to orient thepeach. Accordingly, as the turret continues to revolve, the peach movesto position 20-20, Figures 2, 6 and 20. As it moves to this position theGeneva lock plate 156 engages the curved camming surface 230 of thelocking ring 214 and the plate and orienting spindle 144 are therebyrotated so that the wheel is disposed at an angle of 45 to the radius ofthe turret, as best illustrated in Figures 2 and 20A. The orientingwheel, however, continues to be driven by the drive spool 194 and thepeach is now rotated about an axis which is inclined at an angle of 45with its original axis of rotation. Due to the weight and inertia of thepeach, during the turning of the orienting wheel about a vertical axis,the peach is not turned about a vertical axis.

If the peach had originally dropped on the orienting wheel with itsindent in such a position that the turning of the wheel relative to thepeach about a vertical axis caused the wheel to lie in the plane of theindent or transverse thereto, the continued rotation of the wheel inthis new plane would of course quickly serve to locate the ndent. If thepeach had originally dropped on the wheel in such a position that therotation of the wheel radially of the turret between positions 19-19 and2020 served to locate the indent and the wheel penetrated into the ndentcrosswise thereof so that the peach stopped rotating, it may andfrequently does happen that the vertical turning of the wheel causes thewheel to be aligned with the long axis of the stem indent and thereforethe wheel penetrates more deeply into the indent, as heretoforeexplained. Therefore, in those instances, the peach is fully oriented,not only as to stem indent, but also as to suture plane by the time itreaches position 2020. However, if the peach originally dropped on thewheel in the position shown in Figure 24, then the rotation of the peachabout the second axis may cause the indent to reach the wheel and liethereon with the wheel extendmg crosswise, or the peach may continue tobe rotated without bringing the stem indent into registration with thewheel.

As the turret continues to revolve and the orienting mechanism aproachesposition 2121, Figures 2 and 6, the bottom edge of the spindle 144engages, and the spindle is raised by, the stationary cam block 196.This cam block raises the spindle, thereby lifting the orienting wheelout of engagement with the driving spool, and as the spindle passes overthe top of the cam blocks, the Geneva gear 148 is engaged by the teethof the Geneva gear sector 216 so that the spindle is rotated through anangle of the Geneva lock ring having a relieved portion or notch 262below the teeth of the Geneva gear sector 216 so as to provide clearancepermitting the locking plate to rotate with the spindle and to positionthe next curved surface 152 of the locking ring for locking engagementwith the relieved edge surface of the locking ring beyond the notch 262.The Wheel spindle having been rotated through an angle of 90 to theposition shown in Figures 21 and 21A, the spindle now passes beyond thecam block 196 and drops down to reengage the orienting wheel with itsdrive spool. If the indent of the peach had been located prior toposition 20-20, but the wheel extended crosswise of the indent, thisnext vertical turning of the spindle would cause the wheel to swingabout a vertical axis relative to the peach and may serve to align thewheel with the long axis of the indent, permitting the peach to dropfarther down onto the wheel.

If the peach had originally dropped on the wheel as shown in Figure 24and had been rotated as indicated in Figure 25 by the wheel as it passesfrom position 20-20 to position 2121, this vertical shifting or swingingof the wheel relative to the peach will then cause the wheel, rotatingas in position 21--21, to locate the indent but extend crosswise thereofas shown in Figure 26. As the turret continues to revolve, the orientingmechanism approaches position 22-22, the spindle engages the next camblock 198 and the Geneva gear 148 engages the next Geneva gear sector218 and the locking plate reaches the cut-out 264 in the locking ring214. Hence, the gear spindle is again rotated about a vertical axisthrough an angle of 90 to a position shown in Figures 2, 22 and 22A. Thepeach, the indent of which has been located by the wheel extendingcrosswise of the indent, as illustrated in Figure 26, will, by thisvertical rotation of the wheel spindle, bring the wheel into alignmentwith the long axis of the indent. If, during this vertical swinging onthe wheel spindle, the suture plane is located by the wheel, the peachwill, of course, turn about a vertical axis with the wheel as it goes tothe position shown in Figure 21A.

As the turret continues to revolve, the orienting mechanism approachesposition 221221, Figures 2 and 6, the Geneva gear 148 engages the Genevagear sector 220 and the Geneva locking plate 150 reaches the notch 266in the locking plate so that the wheel spindle is again rotated throughan angle of 90, the orienting wheel duplicating the position withrespect to the radial axis of the turret as illustrated in Figures 21and 21A. If the peach has been oriented as to stem indent and the wheellies crosswise thereof, this turning of the spindle will serve to orientit as to suture plane. If the peach has not been oriented as to stemindent, the rotation of the peach about this new axis will serve eitherto locate the stem indent or to locate both the stem indent and thesuture plane.

As the turret continues to revolve and the orienting wheel approachesposition 2323, the Geneva gear 148 is brought into engagement with thesingle toothed gear sector 222 and the orienting wheel is rotated abouta vertical axis through an angle of 45 so that the wheel spindle isagain radially aligned with the turret as illustrated in Figures 2, 23and 23A. As the orienting wheel approaches this position the Geneva lockplate 150 reaches the reduced final end portion 268 and a corner of thelock plate is engaged by the hook end 226 of the latch spring 224,Figure 11.

Applicant has found that practically 100 percent of the peaches areoriented before the orienting mechanism reaches position 2323.Accordingly, the swinging of the wheel to a position in radial alignmentwith the turret serves to fix the suture plane of the oriented peachwith respect to the radial axis of the turret as a reference plane. Itmay happen that because the stem indents of peaches or like fruit arenot perfectly smooth, but that because of grooves left from stems ortwigs that bore the fruit, or creases on the sides of the stern indents,or small bumps, the wheel has not entered the stem indent to its fullestposition and therefore the suture plane has not been precisely orientedby the timethe 10 fruit reaches and passes position 2323. Accordingly,as the turret continues to revolve, the orienting mechanism passes ontoand over the ring sector 242, Figure 6, the wheel spindle passing overthe cam block section 270 at the end of the ring 204 onto the tracksection 242 which is elevated with respect to the ring 204. Thus, as theorienting wheel passes over the sect-or 242, the orienting wheel spindleis held in raised position and therefore out of driving engagement withits driving spool 194, the track section being continuously vibratedthrough a distance adjustable from almost nothing to 4: inch. The wheelspindle, orienting wheel and peach are vibrated vertically, preferablyat high speed, on the order of 1300 vibrations per minute, but withrather a gentle movement and the wheel clears the bumps, creases, twigsor roughened surfaces on the indent sides of the peach,

and the peach settles down onto the wheel so that the wheel penetratesthe maximum possible extent into the indent of the peach and the longaxis of the peach is precisely located by the wheel.

Peaches are frequently, if not usually, not perfect spheres, and,therefore, although the peach may be precisely oriented with respect tothe long axis of the stem indent or the suture plane, the peach may tiltone way or the other on the wheel so that the suture plane is not trulyvertical. Accordingly, after the orienting mechanism has passed thevibrating track 242, the opposed V-shaped clamps or grippers S6 and 88are released by the cam 112 for closing movement under the action oftheir connecting spring 114. The surface of the cam is thereforerelieved in the area 272 sufficiently to permit the clamps to close toan extent necessary to grip the smallest sized peach which the machineis intended to handle. As these clamps or grippers move to closedposition, they, by reason of their V-shape, serve to recentralize thepeach with its suture plane now extending in a truly vertical planecoincident with the vertical plane through the orienting wheel and theaxis of the rotating turret. The tapered inner surface and 122 of theclamps or grippers 86 and 88 serve to apply to the peach, as thegrippers are moved to closed position, a force exerted in a downwarddirection from above the center line of the greatest diameter of thepeach, thereby insuring that the peach will be. maintained in properlyoriented position on the wheel and will not be lifted off the wheel orshifted with respect thereto.

During turning of the peach by the orienting wheel in its several anddifferent angular positions about a vertical axis, the force applied tothe peach by the rotating wheel, and the force of gravity acting on amisshapen or not strictly spherical peach may tend to tilt the peachwith respect to the vertical plane through the orienting wheel and thepeach will therefore impinge upon a sur face of the peach receiving orholding means or grippers as illustrated in Figures 24 through 27. Thepeach grippers are preferably provided with chromium plated innersurfaces to reduce the friction between the peach and these grippersurfaces. As compared with semi-cylindrical grippers, the V-shapedgrippers 86 and S8 serve to reduce the area of contact of the tiltedpeach with the grippers and therefore serve further to reduce themovement-retarding friction between the peach and the peach-receiving orholding means or grippers.

It should be noted that during orientation of the fruit, the fruitreceiving or holding means or grippers 86 and $8 merely serve tomaintain the fruit substantially centrally over the associated orientingwheel, so that the fruit contacting portions of the clamp members aresufficiently above the highest point of the wheel that the fruit cannotjam between the wheel and the inner surfaces of said means or grippers.This spacial relationship of the Wheel to the fruit contacting surfacesof said means or grippers is further important in that it permits mostready movement of the fruit to a vertical position, with the upper edgeof the wheel as a pivot point, when 11 the clamp members are broughttoward each other to effect the final straightening of the fruit forprecisely aligning the suture plane of the fruit with the wheel plane.

After the fruit grippers have been moved to closed position tostraighten the fruit on the orienting wheel as shown in Figure 29, theymay be slightly opened by cams 112 and any suitable mechanism, notshown, may be used to project into or through the openings of theturret, and adduct the oriented fruit therefrom in a predeterminedorientation, prior to the time that the grippers pass under the chutebottom to receive another peach therefrom.

It will be obvious that changes may be made in the form, constructionand arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit of theinvention or sacrificing any of its advantages, and the right'is herebyreserved to make all such changes as fairly fall within the scope of thefollowing claims.

The present application is a division of a joint application ofapplicant and Richard D. Fox, Serial No. 47,464, entitled FruitOrienting Method and Machine, filed September 2, 1948.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

I. In a device for orientating peaches or like indented and suturedfruit, a rotatable orientating member adapted to engage and rotate afruit body and enter the stem indent to maximum extent only when inalignment with the suture plane of the fruit, means arranged to maintainthe fruit body supported solely upon said member and to resistdisplacement of the fruit body upon rotation of said member, and drivingmeans for rotating said orientating member to turn the fruit body whileso sup- 12 ported solely upon said orientating member and in respect toa plurality of relatively angularly disposed axes, whereby to effect theorientating alignment of the suture plane of the fruit with saidorientating member.

2. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said orientating memberis a wheel rotating in a vertical plane and having an edge thin enoughto penetrate the indent to maximum extent when the wheel is aligned withthe suture plane of the fruit.

3. In a machine for orientating peaches or like indented and suturedfruit, lateral fruit restraining means having side walls with a verticalextent substantially less than the diameter of said fruit and defining aspace larger than the fruit to be orientated and normally unobstructedto permit free pasage of said fruit therethrough, wheel means shaped toenter the stem indents of said fruit to maximum extent only when inalignment with the suture plane of the fruit and rotatable in a verticalplane, said wheel means being positioned substantially centrally belowsaid side walls and forming the sole means for supporting said fruit insaid space against gravity, and means for rotating said wheel means toturn the fruit while so supported solely upon said wheel means and inrespect to a plurality of relatively angularly disposed axes whereby toeffect the orienting alignment of the suture plane of the fruit withsaid wheel means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,265,515 Carroll Dec. 9, 1941

